Exceedance of air quality standards resulting from pyro-metallurgical production of copper: a case study, Bor (Eastern Serbia)

Abstract

This study represents air quality data of SO2 and As concentrations around the mining–metallurgical complex Bor (Serbia) from 1994 to 2008. Daily and annual SO2 concentrations greatly exceed current air quality standards in the studied area. The “hot spot” with the highest SO2 and As annual concentrations during 15 years was the urban-industrial area (the town core). Daily SO2 concentrations and meteorological parameters during the period from 2005 to 2008 were statistically analysed to develop suitable prediction equations for daily SO2 concentrations. Anode copper production is an important but not the only factor that has influence on SO2 concentrations. By stepwise multiple linear regression analysis, it was determined that daily SO2 concentrations are most influenced by maximum wind gust, relative humidity and air temperature at all the measuring sites. The prediction equations of daily SO2 concentrations represent a good model with regression coefficients from 0.854 to 0.926 at all the measuring sites. Correlation analysis showed that eastern and western winds increase SO2 concentrations, thus increasing the health risk of the inhabitants in the study area.